United States equities extended their rally on Monday (Tuesday AEST), with all three major benchmarks notching record closing highs, driven by strength in technology shares and optimism around artificial intelligence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66.3 points or 0.1% to close at 46,381.5. The S&P 500 rose 29.4 points or 0.4% to 6,693.8, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 157.5 points or 0.7% to end at 22,789.0.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by Nvidia, which surged 3.9% after unveiling plans to invest US$100 billion (A$151.6 billion) in OpenAI to expand data centre capacity.
Oracle was another standout, climbing 6.3% after appointing Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co-chief executives, with longtime leader Safra Catz transitioning to executive vice chair of the board.
Apple also advanced 4% on optimism surrounding stronger-than-expected iPhone sales, adding further weight to the tech-led rally.
However, gains were tempered by ongoing political uncertainty in Washington, where lawmakers again face a 30 September deadline to avoid a government shutdown, after the Senate rejected both Republican and Democratic stopgap funding proposals last week.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called on President Donald Trump to engage in negotiations to reach a deal.
Market attention now turns to the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, due later this week.
On the bond markets, yields edged higher, with 10-year rates up 0.3% to 4.147% and 2-year yields rising 0.9% to 3.605%.
